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Hypnotic deepeners
What are Hypnotic deepeners?
The deepener’s job is to take someone from being in a trance to being in a deeper trance (see trance depth). There are a number of reasons why someone would want to do this;
- it is general believed that the deeper the trance the more effective the therapy. The evidence for this is not clear, particularly because lighter states of trance may allow you to work more flexibly.
- People are presenting for ‘hypnotherapy’, the emphasis here being on the ‘hypno’ part and as such may have a more convincing experience with a deeper state.
There are many different formats for deepening and below we will explore some of the most common.
Numerical hypnotic deepeners
These are deepener’s which rely on counting up or down, commonly this might be counting down from 3 or up to 10. The counting provides a defined period of time in which the deepening can occur thus allowing the mind to make the transition. Typically, suggestions such as “deeper and deeper, “deep sleep” and “relax” will be made in and around the numbers to help facilitate the deepening.
Natural phenomena hypnotic deepeners
Possibly the most common natural phenomena hypnotic deepener are those which use ideomotor response to return a limb to normalcy after having conducted induction through an Arm levitation or Limb catalepsy induction. A lesser example of a natural phenomenon deepener is delivering deepening suggestions as the subject exhales to gain the benefit of the simultaneous physical suggestion given by the act of breathing out. for more on natural Phenomena in hypnosis
Visual engagement hypnotic deepeners
These look to create deepening by encouraging the subject to focus internally on imaginary imagery, typically a journey or favourite place. This creates dissociation from the current environment and may help access resources states, such as relaxation which in themselves may further deepen the subject.
Dissociative hypnotic deepeners
These are deepeners which explicitly encourage dissociation, the separation of subject from their current time / space. Many people argue that dissociation is the basis of hypnosis so anything which encourages it is likely to be useful. A typical example of dissociation deepening is asking a subject to imagine floating out of their body, this can easily lead into a visual engagement deepener such as a journey to a favourite place.
Triggered and conditioned hypnotic deepeners
These are a little different to the other types of deepener as when initially introduced they are not intended to procedure deepening but rather are establishing a cue for deepening at a later point. The cue word may be “sleep”, “relax”, “Nowww” or something similar. The use of the cue word is to take the subject back to the state in which the cue word was installed, to this end the hypnotherapist will look to install as deep a trance as possible before installing the cue word. Such deepening words are resources to be applied by the hypnotherapist when trance depth has been disrupted by something or an extra bit of deepening is required.
The above are all elements of deepeners and may well in mixed in together to create a more effective whole.
Factors that affect induction (pre-induction)
Pre-induction factors which affect hypnotic induction
In this Vlog / blog we look at several factors which can effect the outcome of a hypnotic induction. let’s first define what an induction is;
A hypnotic induction is a way of getting someone to close their eyes. It generally includes some degree of deepening but ultimately it is about taking someone from having their eyes open to having their eyes closed. This means that the simplest form of hypnotic induction is the ‘simple eye closure’ where you just ask someone to close their eyes, even this cuts out a substantial amount of the information which is coming into the brain (approximately 40% I am told) allowing for greater focus on the internal world. However most inductions are more elaborate than this and start to produce hypnotic states in advance of eye closure.
Pre-induction factors which affect hypnotic induction – preparation
there are a number of basics which can make quite a difference these include;
Comfort & physical stabilisation – Are they physically comfortable? Is the chair you use strong, stable and comfy for a semi-conscious person. Is the room warm / cool enough for a semi-conscious person, and have they been to the toilet recently enough (don’t ask about this immediately before induction). In addition I always invite my patients to place their feet flat on the floor and their hands on their laps as this create more physical stability.
Understanding – Studies (by me!) suggest that most people have a balanced view of hypnosis and hypnotherapy and many of the old myths about control and domination are dying out, however they are not yet gone, so a good explanation of what hypnosis is, what it might be like and what it is not is a good idea. In addition you should offer the client the chance to aske any questions they may wish.
Consent – Although it would be possible to argue that the act of presenting to a hypnotherapists for therapy gives implied consent for hypnosis, explicit consent is much more respectful. So always stop to ask if a client is ready to enter hypnosis before you initiate induction.
Co-operative mind set – by enhancing co-operation prior to induction they are far more likely to co-operate in trance. Co-operation is enhanced by building rapport, but also by demonstrating co-operation and techniques like the ‘yes set’ which will be discussed in other videos.
6 natural phenomenon in hypnotic induction
The use of natural phenomenon in hypnotic induction
In this video I discuss the use of 6 natural phenomenon in hypnotic induction
Breath – deceptively simple but overlooked by many is combining your suggestions with someone breath. Usually this means you deliver deepening suggestions on the outbreath thus giving a physical suggestion in combination with the verbal suggestion.
Tiring – a hypnosis classic! you place the subject in a position where they will gradually become tired, for example the eyes focused on a elevated spot, wait for a little while and then tell them that they are becoming tired. The real trick is to tell them they are becoming tired before they are consciously aware of it. By directing their attention to the pre-existent tiredness it gives the impression that suggestion has made this happen.
Ideomotor response (IMR) – Most people are not aware that most thought, especially about actions, tend to produce small unconscious movements, these are called IMR’s. By directing a subject to have a certain thought a hypnotist may produce an IMR. As with tiring (see above) the hypnotist may be credited with producing this IMR but all the hypnotist is actually doing is focusing the subjects attention on something which is already. By repeating and enhancing the IMR through suggestion it can be taken well beyond its naturally occurring level and produce some of the more impressive hypnotic inductions such as the Arm levitation.
Dissociation – we all have the ability to mentally separate from our immediate circumstances, we call it daydreaming, this is also a form of dissociation. Dissociation means to separate from the here and now, usually by an act of engaging with the internal mental world. A hypnotist will often encourage dissociation directly by inviting someone to imagine floating out of their body and floating off to a beautify place. Dissociation can be in both space (location an bodily awareness) or time.
Fractionation – It has been observed that someone in a trance, however light, will go progressively deeper if they are asked to open their eyes and then invited to closed them again. Although often enhanced with suggestion this interesting natural phenomenon has been used by hypnotists for many years to help people go gently deeper into hypnosis.
Confusion – far from my favourite as it is rarely appropriate to the anxious patients I tend to work with it is however a powerful hypnotic technique. When in a state of confusion a person will often latch on to any single clear command or idea with far greater belief than if the were not confused. Hypnotists will often produce mild confusion in their subjects which they then break with a single clear command.
Factors which affect hypnotisability
3 Innate Factors which affect hypnotisability
The socio-cognitive theorists offer up three different factors which are innate to hypnotic subjects to varying degrees and affect how easily they can be hypnotised
- Vividness & Involvement – this is a persons ability to loose themselves into or sink into a concept. Part of this is the realism with which they experience a scene, memory of concept be that visually, physically or with any other sense. Although this can be enriched through suggestion most people have a basic level of vividness and involvement which the hypnotherapists guides. With people who display a strong level of involvement I tend to use very little deep hypnosis and favour imagery and Ericksonian approaches.
- Expectancy – as you may anticipate this is a person’s belief in hypnosis. Naturally this varies from complete acceptance in the idea to utter disbelief in phenomenon of trance or hypnotic suggests. Essentially, the stronger the belief in hypnosis the more easily someone is likely to go into it, or respond to it. This is mostly because they are going to be open, co-operative and interested in the experience. With people with a high degree of belief in hypnosis I tend to use the more traditional, often more theatrical, approaches which fit more closely many peoples expectation of hypnosis. A common expectation to this is when they have prior positive hypnotic experience and then I attempt to replicate their past experience.
- Compliance – some people are naturally more cooperative than others and respond well to being given simple clear instructions. Highly cooperative people tend to be more natural hypnotic subjects, but everyone who presents to a hypnotherapist is intending to go with the process to some degree. A compliant mind set can be nurtured with a few simple, reasonable, request such as asking the person to place their feet flat on the floor and their hands upon their lap.
How to become a hypnotherapists
How to become a hypnotherapist
So you want to know how to become a hypnotherapist ? It’s an ambition which many people have but lots of people simply don’t know where to start. In this blog we will go over the things you need to know.
How to become a hypnotherapist – Training
The first thing you will need to do is get some training, and this is usually the biggest challenge because you will need to find a reputable institution … the question is how? So here is what you need to check
- Do they provide an externally validated qualification. This should be simple but unfortunately many schools pretend to have a such a qualification but upon checking into it you find out that actually it is just a qualification which is validated by an awarding body which the organisation themselves have set up. This can be hard to spot at first glance, but take a look and sometimes it becomes obvious. In the UK the best way is to go directly to an awarding body such as the National Council for Hypnotherapy who award qualification but don’t actually run them ( see NCH Accreditied schools for a list of externally validated schools)
- How much face-to-face contact will you get? Anything less than 100 hours face to face time and you should just move on. If it is an online or distance course just forget it, hypnotherapy is a practical skill and although you can learn a lot of theory over skype you still need to learn what to do with real people, in the same room.
- Can you get there? Getting to a course can be problematic but be wary of going to a course you are not confident in just because it is close, this could be saving hassle and expense at the cost of actually learning.
- Cost however is a different subject. The hypnotherapy training market is highly competitive which benefits the student as they may get high quality training at an affordable price.
How to become a hypnotherapist – legal
As a hypnotherapist you are going to need a few things before you practice
- Insurance – Public liability & professional indemnity. These usually come as a package, which a reputable training course will direct you to. Normally they are quite inexpensive, usually coming in at less than £100.00 per year for a hypnotherapists trained by a recognised institution.
- Know your Data protection – again most reputable training centres will cover this as part of training. Remember, as a therapist you will be handling and storing sensitive data and as such should follow the relevant guidance. Go to Gov. data protection act for more info.
- Be especially aware of your safeguarding responsibilities if you plan to work with children. Go to Safeguaring of the young
How to become a hypnotherapist – Setting up a practice
Ok so you are trained, you have the skills, your insured and know what your legal responsibilities are, you probably want some clients now? Ok you will need
- A room – for most people renting a room in a therapy centre can be a great way to start. The over heads may be high but actually for the first little while you are still learning and being surrounded by other therapist’s in different disciplines can help you to get ideas and a little support. many people practice form their home office, and if you have a quiet room, preferably with a lot of natural light this can be fine, but first consider how the room you are using will appear to clients. when starting out be wary of renting an expensive office, get to know the business a bit first as an office can be a substantial over head.
- A phone number – Preferably one dedicated to your hypnotherapy business as this will allow you to answer it as a business and you will always know that it is a business call when it comes in. Get a diversion service so that this can be redirected to your mobile when you are away.
- Some clients – this is the most important a trickiest bit. Put together a marketing plan and be prepared to work.
You will need a website, and some way of promoting it. You may also want to join one of the directories which promotes hypnotherapy, probably the best of which in the UK is hypnotherapy directory .
- You may also wish to use Facebook paid services, google ads, linked in and develop an SEO strategy for the long term.
- Public talks at local events, groups, meetups are a rich source of clients as people will often come up to you at the end as ask if you can treat such and such a condition, so be available and have your diary with you.
- Paper adverts have become a lot less popular in recent years but many people use local free directories, my experience is that the more local the publication is the more likely people are to look at it and see your advert.
Eventually you will build up a lot of word of mouth business from former clients who talk about how good you are to their friends, you will still have to market your services but the number of clients you get for the time and money you invest will get much better.
Hypnotherapy Training Birmingham – Course dates from September 2017
Hypnotherapy training Birmingham – course dates The 2017 Autumn dates are out!
Our next Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) course will start Saturday 16th 2017 and finish 8 July 2018. Classes are held on weekends (both Saturday and Sunday).
For more details go to WMSCH
For location details go to Venue
Dates (Course ref 1701)
Hypnotherapy classes last approximately from 10.00-17.00.
Weekend 1 – 16/17 September 2017
Weekend 2 – 14/15 October 2017
Weekend 3 – 18/19 November 2017
Weekend 4 – 16/17 December 2017
Weekend 5 – 13/14th January 2018
Weekend 6 – 10/11th February 2018
Weekend 7 – 3/4th March 2018
Weekend 8 – 31st March /1st April 2018
Weekend 9 – 5/6th May 2018
Weekend 10 – 2/3rd June 2018
Weekend 11 – 7/8th July 2018
For more details go to WMSCH
For location details go to Venue
West Midland School of Clinical Hypnotherapy 2017 online prospectus
Welcome to the West Midland School of Clinical Hypnotherapy 2017 online prospectus
At WMSCH we teach the National Council for Hypnotherapy’s (NCH) externally validated Diploma in Hypnotherapy. This is a nationally recognised qualification, being at academic level four. The course is assessed by essays and through assessment of practical work.
In the prospectus we give a day by day breakdown of the course content, for other information simply go to WMSCH or The qualification , Who teaches the course , Where is the course? How much does it cost?
Day 1 – Saturday 16 Sept 2017
- Introductions
- Terminology (unconscious, contraindication, Patient/client)
- What is hypnosis?
- What is Induction / deepening / awakening.
- Depth of trance
- Safe practice & consent
- Progressive Relaxation induction
- Awakening
- Use of voice
- Use of breathing
Day 2 – Sunday 17th September 2017
- Ethical Hypnosis
- Suggestibility Tests
- Eye fixation inductions
- Favourite place of relaxation
- Manipulation of distractions
- introduction to Direct & indirect hypnosis
- Indirect eye-fixation
Day 3 – Saturday 14th October 2017
- Factors influencing inductions (including ‘resistance’ to inductions)
- Fractionation inductions
- Limb catalepsy & Iimb heaviness
- 10-1 deepener
- Confusion inductions
- Nowww… deepener
Day 4 – Sunday 15th October 2017
- Hand levitation induction
- Eye tiring inductions
- Ericksonian Hypnosis
- Ericksonian language
- Interspersal deepening & Early learning set
- Triggered hypnosis
Day 5 – Saturday 18th November 2017
- Overviews of therapy
- Locus of Control
- Building Rapport
- Active listening
- Intro to NLP
- Meta model
- Eye accessing cues
- Mirroring, pacing and leading
Day 6- Sunday 19th November 2017
- Ethical Therapy & Code of conduct
- Suggestion Formation
- Taking a case history
- Habit breaking
- Therapy Contract
- Becoming a Non-smoker
Day 7 – Saturday 16th December 2017
- Behavioural therapy overview & Cognitive Behavioural therapy
- Aversion therapy
- Desensitisation
- Flooding
- Abreaction & catharsis
Day 8 – Sunday 17th December 2017
- Self-hypnosis
- Ego strengthening (verbal & Metaphorical)
- Garden of the Mind
- Insomnia
Day 9 – Saturday 13th January 2018
- Metaphors, parables & visualisations
- Use of Modalities within metaphors
- Old wise Person
- Library of recourses
- Pseud-orientation in time
- Solution focused therapy & the miracle question
Day 10 – Sunday 14th January 2018
- Psychosis & Neurosis
- Planning therapy
- Self-integration dissociation
- Anchoring
- Modifying thoughts and self-help tools
Day 11 – Saturday 10th February 2018
- Introduction to dissociation
- Parts therapy
- Stage dissociation
- Dissociation through objects )
Day 12 – Sunday 11th February 2018
- Weight control
- Body image
- Binge eating
- hypnosis in performance & sports
Day 13 – Saturday 3rd March 2018
- Pain control
- IBS
- Headaches
- Hand / glove analgesia
Day 14 – Sunday 4th March 2018
- Mind-body connections
- The stress response
- Symptom manipulation tools
- Control room of the mind
- Skin conditions
Day 15 – Saturday 31st March 2018
- Psychosexual problems
- Hypertension
- Erythrophobia
- Psycho-neuro-immunology
- Chronic illness
- Healing visualisations
Day 16 – Sunday 1st April 2018
- Anxiety
- positive anxiety replacement
- Stammering & Stuttering
- Confidence
- Assertiveness training
Day 17 – Saturday 5th May 2018
- Psycho-analysis & psychodynamics
- Cheverals pendulum
- IMR’s
- IMR therapy
- Timeline work
- Inner child
Day 18 – Sunday 6th May 2018
- Transference, Counter transference
- Psychodrama tools
- The jigsaw puzzle
- The Mask
- Working with fundamental emotions – Anger, jealousy, Shame & Guilt
Day 19 – Saturday 2nd June 2018
- Hypnosis, hypnotherapy & Children
- Hypnosis & Obstetrics
- Working with Infertility & IVF
- Dystonia
- Tinnitus
Day 20 – Sunday 3rd June 2018
- Regression – overview
- Age Regression
- Esoteric or past life regression
- Mild & Moderate depression
- Hill and cloud metaphors
Day 21 – Saturday 7th July 2018 – revision & tying up loose ends
Day 22 – Sunday 8th July 2018 – Assessed practical’s & case history written papers.
What is the difference between neurosis and psychosis ?
What is the difference between neurosis and psychosis? Let us start by defining neurosis and psychosis.
Neurosis
Neurosis is a broad term rarely used by therapists and psychologists these days. However, it does have some value to hypnotherapists. Broadly, neurosis can be said to be a mental problem in which the suffer is in touch with reality. Often this appears as a logical – emotional dissonance. This means the suffer can tell you that their behaviour is inappropriate but feel it is beyond their control. Typical examples would include;
- Phobia’s – in which the sufferer knows that the trigger for the phobia is not dangerous.
- Obsessions – where the obsessed know that they are over focused but cannot break out of that.
- Extreme Habits – the sufferer may be able to identify the habit as unpleasant, but they are unable to take control of it.
- Twitches and ticks – where the afflicted cannot control the muscles involved but there is no identifiable physical problem.
With neurosis there is an implication that some life event or problem is influencing the problem. This may not always be true as a life event may have initiated the problem behaviour but it may now be a habit.
Neurosis is the most serious level of mental health issue a hypnotherapist may deal with. Psychosis (see below) are contraindicated for hypnotherapy.
Psychosis
is a general term used to describe any set of symptoms where the sufferer is thought to be out of touch with external reality. This may be due to any number of factors such as organic brain impairment or long term stress. Symptoms of psychosis include
- Delusions.
- Severe lack of insight or self-awareness.
- Hallucinations.
If you have any concerns that a potential patient may be out of touch with reality refer them on to a doctor.
What are contraindications ?
So what are contraindications ?
Essentially a contraindication is a reason NOT to do something. So in the medical world, which is where we get the term from, a good example would be:
- Drug X is for migraines, but also lowers blood pressure.
- The patient has migraines, but also has low blood pressure.
- because Drug X is likely to further lower the patients blood pressure and thus put them at risk it should not be prescribes. Drug X is contraindicated for patients with Low blood pressure.
What are contraindications for hypnotherapists?
Hypnotherapy is a relatively safe intervention. Many hypnotists will argue that hypnosis is an entirely normal process, no more dangerous than falling asleep. However, there is the issue of how hypnosis is induced and what is done once a client is in hypnosis.
What are the general contraindications for the use of hypnosis ?
Most hypnotherapists agree that it is unwise to work with people who are in states of psychosis. This means that they have a problem which causes them to be out of touch with reality. Psychosis may include hallucinations, grandiose beliefs, paranoia.
There is discussion around people with epilepsy which occurs when they fall asleep. The process of hypnosis may be related to the state change from being awake to asleep. As a rule with people with epilepsy which is triggered by falling asleep I recommend extreme caution, ask about their medication and how stable they are on their medication, inform them of the facts and when it doubt refer to your professional body .
What are the specific contraindications for the use of hypnotherapy ?
The most common contraindications which come up in therapy are for a particular type of client with a particular type of technique. For example;
- Eye tiring inductions should not be used with people with eye pain, strain or glaucoma.
- Arm based techniques (limb heaviness, arm levitation) should not be used with people arm pain, strain or joint problems.
- Body focused techniques ( muscle relaxation, body scan inductions) should be avoided with people who have conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and panic attacks where there is a tendency to monitor the body for symptoms.
These are but a few examples, and others will be flagged up in technique specific videos. The rule of thumb is think about what you are doing, use your common sense and when in doubt play it safe!
Author – Matt Krouwel is a hypnotherapist in Birmingham (UK). He is also the course leader for the West Midlands School of Clinical Hypnotherapy